SAN DIEGO _ Margaret Hunter, the wife and former campaign manager of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., is scheduled to be sentenced April 13 on one count of criminal conspiracy, according to court records filed Tuesday.
The sentencing in U.S. District Court in San Diego was rescheduled from its December date at the request of prosecutors and defense attorneys for Margaret Hunter, so that it will take place after Duncan Hunter's criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 22.
The indictment filed in August 2018 accused the couple of crimes related to their alleged use of more than $250,000 of political contributions, intended for Hunter's campaign, for personal expenses such as video games, dental work, their children's private school tuition, a family vacation to Italy and more.
Margaret Hunter reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in June to the conspiracy count, which names her husband as her sole co-conspirator.
As part of the plea deal, she agreed to testify against her husband, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges and says his prosecution is a partisan witch hunt, an allegation prosecutors have denied.
Duncan Hunter's trial on the 60-count indictment, originally scheduled to start Sept. 10, has been delayed twice amid an appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His trial, when it starts, is expected to last a month or more.
Margaret Hunter faces up to five years in prison but is expected to receive a lighter sentence due to her cooperation.
